A friend of mine needed a compact desk to fit in a narrow spot beside her bed. Rather than spending days shopping around, why not get something custom? She wanted something clean, elegant, and affordable. I think this desk delivers.

softwood desk

Constructed of a pre-laminated knotty pine shelf panel and resawn spruce 2x4s. I had to buy some extra material and resaw more than I needed to get clean straight quartersawn sticks for the legs and bracing, but I’ll use the extra pieces for something else.

Lap joints are clamped by Chicago bolts, which like many designers I am inordinately fond of. The side frames are glued but the back cross brace is not so it can be flat packed for moving if required.

The desk measures 42″ wide x 19″ deep x 28″ tall. I made it a bit lower than a typical table because it is more comfortable to type on a lower surface.